I can remember when Black Friday was a single day of shopping. The deals were good and people were respectful of others. It seems to me that Black Friday has become almost like a disease that slowly spreads each year. It now starts on Thanksgiving day and runs the whole weekend and into Cyber Monday. People skip being with family so that they can camp in front of the store to get the “deals.” Do they not know that they are missing the real deal – spending time with their families.
As the years pass, the material things that they skipped Thanksgiving for will be forgotten and unfortunately many of the people that they love will have passed on. God has given you a limited number of minutes – it is our job to use them wisely.
We have found that you usually do not have to wait in line to get the deals. Doug loves to shop so if there is a big deal on something we really want, he and his Dad usually go after dinner and simply pick up a voucher without having to stand in line all day. True we have to go on-line and fill out the form and we do not walk out of the store with the item; however, we have always gotten the item of choice at the special price before Christmas.
This allows us to relax and enjoy family time on Thanksgiving day.
(Guess I should have Photoshop Chris into the picture because he was upstairs at the time these were taken,)
We usually put up our Christmas tree on Thanksgiving night but the last few years we have waited until December 1. The family prefers to play games and talk around the dinning room table whenever they get together. I guess putting up the tree is just too much work. So Shoes and I will get that job done this week when everyone has returned to their jobs. Shawn and Desiree have returned to their home and Doug will be heading back to his place on Sunday afternoon. Doug and I spent this afternoon watching football and I addressed the Christmas cards. I need to finish the yearly Christmas letter and print that off before sealing up the cards. Then off to mail them and do some Christmas shopping later in the week.
Our Christmas shopping list has slimmer down to a much smaller number since we have retired and the boys are grown. The boys have come to the point in their lives that they want money to pay bills more than a bunch of gifts. I am not sure if Christmas is cheaper this way but it sure is easier and not as much of a hassle having to look for just the right action figure or game. We still do a little Christmas shopping but it is at our leisure and we can spend the time enjoying the decorations. We no longer have co-workers to buy for but usually buy for a needy child or family of our choice.
The down side is that the tree looks bare compared to when they were small and the opening of gifts only takes a few minutes.
_______________________
Continue filling out home inventory forms.
DIY with Kathy! 